Pocket Parks Don’t Work in Downtown Silver Spring

One of the top requests of Silver Spring residents is green, public space.

The controversy over the loss of the artificial turf where the now resides was one symptom of a greater need that is not being met.

At first glance, downtown Silver Spring seems to have plenty of public gathering space. Virtually every block has some kind of sitting area and a tree or two on it. Every new development that is added to our downtown area must include a public amenity and often that is a small “pocket park” on a corner with seating and usually some type of art element such as a tall sculpture.

They are empty at most times of day aside from being used as cut-through paths for pedestrians and dog walkers. Clearly, they are not meeting the needs of downtown Silver Spring residents

There are a few successful spaces in downtown Silver Spring, the in-ground fountain area on Ellsworth and Veteran’s Plaza in front of the civic building, being two of them. But the failures abound including the , the round space at Wayne and Georgia Avenues, and the hill-side park leading up Second Avenue by the McDonald’s on Colesville Road.

Why do some public spaces succeed and others fail to attract any usage?

Elin Haaga a garden designer in Bethesda, MD, recently spoke at the Smithsonian Institute about the use and design of public spaces. Haaga highly recommends William H. Whyte’s video that documents Social Life of Small Urban Spaces.

She points out many things a public space needs in order to be attractive and useable. A public space needs seating. It should have moveable chairs as well as built-in seating as part of the space such as knee walls and steps.

Nearby food is a must. There is safety in numbers and nearby cafes allow people watching – a mainstay of Whyte’s research of how individuals use public space.

“A view of the surrounding landscape is an absolute necessity,” Haage said. “You can not be cut off from the rest of the area.”

A secluded garden might be nice for a home landscape, but it feels dangerous and also claustrophobic in a public space.

Elin Haaga offers this advice:

• Public space has nothing in the vertical field higher between two and seven feet. Plantings should be kept at ground level and trees be limbed up so as not to cage people in.

• The public space can not be too high or too low. Meaning, it should not be below or above the general street level. This leads to the feeling of isolation from surroundings and also takes people away from the normal travel routes. Public spaces should be near a path or walkway.

• Public spaces should have inviting features. This element can include moving water, plants that invite touch (such as native grasses), and visual clutter, like hanging utility wires, should be reduced.

Using these design principles, we can easily see why certain spaces succeed in our community and why others fail. Let’s make sure future public space amenities keep these in mind and that wasted space in our downtown is a thing of the past.

Kathy is the editor of Washington Gardener magazine and a long-time DC area gardening enthusiast. Kathy can be reached at washingtongardener@rcn.com and welcomes your gardening questions.